The present invention relates to a resin composition, particularly suited for use in automotive parts, and its production process and uses. The present invention in particular relates to a resin composition comprising a transparent resin and a metal oxide filler dispersed in the transparent resin to increase rigidity of the resin composition without sacrificing transparency and impact resistance, a process for producing the resin composition, molded parts and articles comprising the resin composition, and processes for producing the molded parts and articles.
Transparent resins including methacrylic, polycarbonate, styrene and epoxy resins have such optical applications as organic glass and plastic lenses that are superior in impact resistance, lightness in weight and moldability to inorganic glass. In particular, the methacrylic resin provides high light transmittance, low light scattering properties, high transparency and high weather resistance, thereby increasing in its usage.
By combining these transparent resins with other substances, various composite materials (such as organic-inorganic polymer hybrids) have been proposed to develop therein much more advanced properties than the resins alone. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-343349 discloses resinous window glass obtained by adding fine, spherical particles of hydrophobized silica in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), which shows good transparency and improved surface hardness. Kikan Kagaku Sosetsu No. 42 (Organic-Inorganic Nanocomposite Materials), “Organic-Inorganic Polymer Hybrids”, edited by Chemical Society of Japan (1999) discloses an organic-inorganic polymer hybrid prepared by sol-gel process. The polymer hybrid prepared by sol-gel process has an islands-in-a-sea structure with a sea of sol-gel silica and islands portion of an organic polymer, and shows good transparency.